The Lost Kunoichi
by Nifoi
Summary: They were kidnapped and brought to a God-knows-where country. With hope as their only guide, will these neglected girls ever make it home? Follow them as they fight against all odds and learn the true meaning of friendship.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **The Lost Kunoichi

**Fandom: **Naruto

**Type: **Multi-chapter story

**Rated: **9+

**Word Count: **3, 597

**Summary: **The girls are always the weak ones, the ones who are there just for the looks, the ones who are always the victims, the fangirls and the additional characters. After Sasuke's return to the village, many of the male shinobi were inspired by how strong he and Naruto became, resulting in a group of young female ninjas looked down upon.

One day Sakura and her friends decide to have a night together, when they are suddenly kidnapped and brought overseas. Will they die? Or will they escape? Even if they do escape, will they even find their way home?

**A/N: **ATTENTION! This is a remake, the orginal story I wrote a year ago is horrible and you would definitely not want to read it. I hope this better version of the story would be much more satisfying and exciting. If you have read the original one, please note that there will be a lot of changes to it. Most likely this story won't get a lot of feedback, though. But I'll try to continue.

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Sakura walked out of the small shop after smiling at the pretty cashier and paying for the cute hairband she decided to give Ino later on. Today was her best friend's birthday, after all, and the pink-haired girl giggled softly to herself.

She's been friends with Ino for 10 years and she's giving her a purple hairband. _Pathetic._

It was a quiet evening, a few villagers were bustling about and the wind blew softly. Sakura just stood outside the small shop, staring at the carved faces of the Hokages. It was a relaxing environment and it was rather nice to not have Naruto around. He was so noisy and energetic.

Sakura shook her head, bringing herself back to reality, and she turned left, heading for Hinata's house to plan the perfect night for Ino's party. The emerald-eyed girl smiled at the thought of her blonde friend. Ino wasn't going to be happy if she found out all Sakura was giving her is a hairband. Before the pale-green eyed girl reached the Hyuga's home, she accidentally bumped into the ravenette. Smiling, she waved at her raven-haired friend that was on the opposite side of the road, calling out her name to get her attention. The grey-eyed girl, that seemed to be lost in thought, turned her attention toward her best friend, smiling and running over to her.

"Sakura, I didn't know you were here," her soft, gentle voice spoke, and her pretty face had a winsome smile. The Hyuga heir looked down to see Sakura holding a small plastic bag and a roll of gift wrapping paper sticking out of it, "Oh, I see you got Ino a gift. I thought all that you were going to give her is the party you were going to plan tonight."

"All I got her is a pathetic hairband," The jade-eyed girl laughed, pulling out the purple hairband out of the plastic bag and showing it to Hinata, "I'm pretty sure she has more hairbands than the people in Konoha. I hope the party would be a great gift, because that's the least I can give her."

"Why not we plan the party right here, right now?" Hinata suggested, tucking a lock of blackish-purple hair behind her ear, "We don't have to go through all the trouble finding Tenten and going back to my house, with the risk of bumping into our birthday girl."

"True, so let's start planning!" The pinkette agreed, grinning. She put the purple hairband back inside the plastic, "So, I realized that Ino's pretty stressed out lately, probably because Shikamaru, Choji and Asuma didn't allow her to join them on missions. So, why not we have a fireworks show tonight at 9?"

"That's _amazing_!" Hinata squealed, excited and restrained herself from jumping. Although she was a gentle person, she knew that fireworks would make her jumping up and down in a flash, "We could pay the kind man for the fireworks, too! I'm pretty sure that if we count our money up, it would be more than enough to pay for the show."

"I can already see Ino's happy face now," Sakura smiled, wagging her head slowly. Then she frowned and her face saddened, "Man, what's up with the men these days? Ever since Sasuke came back, they've been mean to us. It really had a big effect on Ino."

"True, Kiba and Shino are behaving the same way," Hinata sighed and put both of her hands on her hips, "A few days ago, I was surrounded by a bunch of thugs, I was sure I could fight them off easily, but then Kiba and Shino came in and didn't let me fight them off. They said that they should always take _full responsibility _if I get hurt."

"I know your pain," Sakura shook her head, "Imagine having four guys on your team. I hope this meaningful day could take away the bad thoughts, even if it's just for a few moments."

"Going to start a rebellion, I see," Tenten teased, interrupting them in the process. She approached them, a huge and cute smile on her face, "I know that the boys are looking down at us, but we shouldn't be talking about that, actually. What's important is Ino's birthday! You girls already got the party planned, so we could wrap the gifts now."

"Yeah, I got the wrapping paper from the gift shop earlier," Sakura said, pulling out the roll of paper that was sticking out of the plastic, "Anyway, what's going to happen tonight isn't much of a 'party'. We don't even have a birthday cake to start with."

"Okay, so I'll meet up with Ino soon and tell her to come to my house at 8," Hinata informed, handing Sakura a small, rectangular box that none of the girls realized that she was holding, "You two go to Sakura's apartment and wrap the gifts. Come to my house at 8, too."

"Understood, and after that we'll go pay for the fireworks show," Sakura nodded in agreement, then turning around to lead Tenten toward her small apartment room.

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"Man, I'm hungry," Tenten complained as she stretched, rubbing her rumbling stomach that was loud enough to make Sakura smirk, "Got anything to eat, Cherry?"

"Yeah, I do have something to eat, but it takes awhile to cook," The pinkette said, making the brunette frown as her tummy grumbled once again. Smiling, the emerald eyed girl suggested, "Well, why not we head down to Ichiraku? Delicious, cheap and quick, am I right?"

When the brown-eyed girl agreed, the two friends left their finished and neatly-wrapped gifts on the table of her apartment, heading down the street and toward the popular ramen shop. On their way, they discussed about Ino and how her reaction would be after the show, and what they would do after the fireworks.

"I don't think we should be holding the gifts when we're standing there," Sakura uttered, putting her hand on her chin, "It would be too troublesome, and when we're gathered at Hinata's house, Ino will see them. But if we don't bring them along, how will we present them to her?"

"That's true…" Tenten agreed, considering her pink-haired friend's words. Then she snapped her fingers and her hazel eyes twinkled, "I know! Why not after the show we go back to your apartment? We'll leave our gifts there, and that way we could have a birthday cake as well!"

"That's genius, Tenten!" Sakura laughed, slightly surprised by her brown-haired friend's solution. The rosette knew it was her chance to tease the Weapon Mistress, and her jade eyes sparkled with challenge, "Was that natural or did Neji's 'geniusness' pass on to you?"

Instead of getting angry, the brunette laughed. "It was passed on. I've been a team with him and Lee for 5 years, Sakura. Lee's determinationa and Neji's intelligence seemed to have an effect on me, actually. You're the same, because I see some of Naruto's ridiculousness affected you, too."

"Hey, don't you think we should tell a few people about the fireworks tonight?" Sakura asked after laughing at the (true) fact her best friend had told her, "Maybe I could tell Tsunade…but I'd rather tell my teammates."

"I would recommend that, but will they even listen to what you'll try to say?" Tenten frowned, folding her arms. Sakura knew what the hazel-eyed girl was saying.

Since Sasuke's return, the male members of most teams have neglected and ignored the kunoichi. The emerald-eyed girl knew that Neji and Lee have changed their behaviour around Tenten, too, and the brunnete was saying that she didn't want to see Sakura get hurt because the boys are not including her.

"Look, I'll try to get their attention, okay?" Sakura assured, giving her a thumbs-up sign. By this time, the girls arrived at their destination and they entered, being welcomed by the owner.

The two girls paused. At one end of the small shop was Naruto, Sasuke and Sai, all three of them sitting next to each other. In front of the energetic blond were ten empty bowls of what used to be ramen (and the azure-eyed boy probably ate all of it himself), and he was seated between the dark-haired teenagers.

"Hi guys!" Sakura greeted, waving her hand at them and there was a cheerful smile on her face. She frowned as they did not reply to her call. She sat two seats away from the chatting boys and the two best friends ordered some food before turning their attention back toward the males. The chocolate-eyed girl encouraged Sakura to keep trying to get their attention.

Feeling confident, the pinkette got up and walked toward her teammates who were laughing. She stood behind Naruto, putting her hands on her hips and called out his name. A vein popped on her forehead as she saw Naruto continue to natter about how he won against Kakashi earlier that day during training.

She wasn't riled of the fact that the boys are ignoring her. She was irritated because she didn't even know that there was training at all on that morning. Nobody told her about it.

"What training?!" Sakura interrupted rudely, her voice crackling with anger as she gripped the blonde's shoulder, making him look back and making the black-haired boys turn their attention towards her as well. "_Nobody _informed me that we had _training _today."

Sasuke looked bored and Sai's face was neutral. Naruto just scratched the back of his head as he turned his seat to face the angry candy-coloured hair girl. "Er…well, we concluded that we shouldn't tell you about the exercise…"

"Why not?!" She snarled, restraining herself from pummeling the sapphire-eyed boy into the ground. Did they really think she was _that _unimportant until they couldn't bring themselves to _tell_ her they had _training?!_

"We didn't feel like telling you. Is that hard to understand?" Sasuke voiced, sounding as bored as ever as he made Naruto turn to face him. "Hey, Naruto, we watched you defeat that perverted geezer, so you don't have to tell us."

They were avoiding her again. She gritted her teeth and clentched her knuckles. "Why am I that useless to you?"

The boys paused, and their eyes looked at the enraged pink-haired girl. "You treat me like I'm so unimportant! Like I'm the weak Sakura Haruno from 5 years ago! You couldn't even inform me that we _had training this morning!"_

"Whoa…Ugly, calm down," Sai said, holding his hands up in a surrender-like pose only to rile the pinkette even more, "Is it wrong for us to try and get stronger? The stronger we get, the more we'll be able to protect you. Besides, if we told you, you would get in the way."

"GET IN THE WAY?!" Sakura exploded with anger, her fist flying toward the pale-skinned artist, but she was stopped by Sasuke who blocked her deadly punch. He glared at her with his menacing and cold black eyes, but the Uchiha noted the anger in _her_ eyes.

"Control yourself, Sakura," He said like he was the most stoic person in the world, trying to calm the hot-headed girl, but it only made her angrier, "You wouldn't want to destroy Naruto's favorite place for ramen and cause more trouble."

"_More _trouble?" Sakura laughed bitterly, releasing Sasuke's grip of her forearm. She glowered at him with her jade eyes, "I'm sure that if I disappeared, you'll happy there's no pain in you pathetic ass."

The dark-haired Uchiha frowned. "That's not what I meant."

"Shut up- I'll be busy tonight," Sakura growled, turning on her heel and sitting next to the surprised, dark-brown haired girl. _'I'll prove to those bastards one day…' _Sakura thought furiously, '_We're completely capable of taking care of ourselves! We'll prove it, anytime, anywhere! Bring it on, idiots!'_

The rest of the meal was in silence, same goes for the boys as they ordered eight more bowls of ramen (five are for Naruto). When the girls were done with the meal, the two friends departed ways. Sakura stopped by a shop to buy things to decorate her apartment for Ino's party and buy a vanilla cake. Although it took awhile, the rosette managed to turn her apartment into a birthday-themed room, with a few of Ino's characteristics.

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Soon enough, night came.

Ino was pretty suspicious why she hadn't seen Sakura or any of her friends for the whole morning and afternoon, and when she finally met up with Hinata who was walking along the street, she couldn't prevent herself from asking her about the pale-green eyed girl's whereabouts.

Hinata played dumb with her. However, it _was _the Yamanaka heir's birthday, so she concluded that her best friends have a surprise party up their sleeve when she arrives at the pale-white eyed girl's home. She put on her casual clothes that were simple yet stylish. She had no idea what would happen, because maybe they actually forgot the blonde's birthday.

When approaching the Hyuga manor, she saw two figures standing at the gate of the house. Her azure eyes confirmed that they were Hinata and Tenten, chatting. The two friends did not realize the Naples-yellow haired girl walking toward them. It wasn't until Ino deliberately cleared her throat that the two girls turned their attention towards her.

"Ino, you're here….already," Tenten asked, both her eyebrows raised in surprise, "Usually you're the last one to arrive. Have you seen Sakura around?"

"No, I haven't," Ino folded her arms, smirking in self-satisfaction, "Wow, I can't believe that I managed to come earlier this time! I managed to break the record, I guess."

They heard a faint voice calling their names from afar. The three friends turned to see Sakura running toward them with a smile on her face and she was waving her hand in the air. When she managed to catch up to them, the pink-haired girl paused, panting and trying to catch her breath. It seemed like she was trying to tell them something.

"Hurry guys! The show's about to start!" Sakura exclaimed suddenly, not waiting for her friends to get the idea. She quickly grabbed Hinata's hand, who grabbed Ino's hand, who grabbed Tenten's hand, and with lightning speed, the Cherry Blossom led them near the village gates, where the old man said had the best view of the fireworks.

When they reached the perfect spot, the four girls panted from the intense running. Sakura was quick, and surprisingly none of them were quicker than her. Each of the girls had a specialty, and for Sakura, strength and speed were some of them.

"Hey, Forehead, slow down, will you?!" The icy-blue eyes girl scolded, still trying to catch her breath, "You were wearing out the heels of my shoes!"

Before Sakura could even answer, a loud bang was heard from above them as they saw the magnificent firework from an angle that was simply perfect.

The girls stared in admiration at the night sky as the fireworks had them completely enthralled. They did not realize other villagers coming out of their homes, wondering of the sudden fireworks show that came out of the blue, but they stared in awe anyway. The fireworks were fantastic and colorful, not to mention energetic, and Ino noted that most of the colors were purple; her favorite color.

"That's just…beautiful…" The blonde said softly to herself, unconciously smiling.

As the show was about to end, nobody realized a pair of suspicious looking figures entering the village, as the village guards themselves were too distracted by the beautiful fireworks. The eerie figures walked toward the four best friends.

The trained kunoichis did not realize the figures walking toward them because they were too caught up by the beautiful scenery of the starry night sky. Another boom changed into a red firework with dancing flames.

Sakura jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her neck followed by a stange sensation of chakra entering her body. She felt dizzy a second later, and everything became blurry as she felt herself fall onto her knees. But before she could fall to the ground, somebody picked her up and put her over his shoulder. She felt too weak to do anything, but then she saw Hinata in the same position as her, on the man's other shoulder.

Like the ravenette, the Haruno heir passed out.

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The next day, Naruto felt guilty for making Sakura so angry.

He decided to go to her apartment and apologize, but he didn't want to do it alone as it wasn't entirely his fault. He persuaded Sai and dragged Sasuke (literally) out of his home to go and say sorry to their female teammate.

When they reached the front door of her small apartment, Naruto knocked on it. "Sakura, it's us! We want to say sorry, so will you let us in?"

Strangely, there was no answer. The blonde tried again and called out her name several times, and knocked on the door harder every minute. The blue-eyed boy was worried Sakura still didn't forgive them for what they've done to her.

To his surprise, Sasuke pushed him aside and turned the knob of her door. It wasn't locked, much to the boys' surprise, and the handsome, dark-haired boy opened it. The three friends just paused at her door, their eyes wide with surprise.

On the wall opposite them, was a huge, handmade sign that said, 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, INO!' staring right back at them. Gifts were on a small table at one side, there was a bowl of popcorn in front of the sofa that was facing the TV, and there were ribbons everywhere.

The boys hesitantly entered and explored the place. Naruto and Sai entered a room and called out Sakura's name, while Sasuke inspected the living room that was decorated for a special occasion. He was surpised to see a half-melted white cake on the table next to the bowl of popcorn, with 17 candles on it. All he could see were the words, 'Happy Birth—" the rest were smudged and mixed with the cake's melted icing.

There was a note near the cake and luckily the nearly melted blob didn't reach it yet. The stoic young boy picked it up, and by this time, Naruto and Sai walked up besides him, "Hey, Sasuke, Sakura isn't here! Maybe she went to buy something or go out with Ino!"

They both noticed the note in their best friend's hand. Sai raised his eyebrow, "Hm? What do we have here?"

'_Dear Ino,_

_Happy Birthday! I bought the cake and decorated the place myself, you know! Better be grateful about it. I hope you liked my present earlier—the fireworks show. I'm sure you enjoyed it because we watched in from the village gates, the angle of which the man said would be the best view. He was right! Anyway, I love you, so have a great night and forget about Shikamaru and Choji._

_Love, Sakura.'_

"The cake isn't even eaten, the gifts aren't even open, and Sakura's missing," Sasuke muttered as Naruto took the note and examined it himself. "I wonder if the girls even stepped in here?"

"_Now _I know why the fireworks show occurred!" Naruto exclaimed as he read the note, snapping his fingers. Then, he rubbed his chin, "Sakura said she'll be busy. Maybe she's too busy to even get home and sleep?"

"I don't know…"Sai shrugged his shoulders.

"No…the party was supposed to be here…" Sasuke said, and then he pointed toward the sign, "You see that thing? That's Sakura's writing, and it clearly says they planned to make the party at her place. But the cake isn't even cut yet, it even melted."

"What are you trying to say?" Sai asked with his eyebrow raised, and Sasuke mentally told him what he thought.

Naruto was starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Are you…saying that…"

Sasuke nodded his head, walking out of the apartment. "Search the village, and if we don't find them, we have to report this to Tsunade."

Naruto rushed as he tailed his best friend out of the apartment as more questions filled his head. "Wait, Teme…are you saying the girls are missing?!"

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**A/N: **Okay, so I guess that's done, and I'm sure it didn't really seem exciting to you. Anyway, the original story has _15 chapters, _and I'm not even sure how I managed to reach that much with only a few reviews. Anyway, I'm sorry to waste your time if you haven't found this story interesting.

I know I should be saying this…but— Reviews=Love=Author's Inspiration=Faster Updates


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **The Lost Kunoichi

**Fandom: **Naruto

**Type: **Multi-chapter story

**Rated: **9+

**Word Count: **4, 291

**Summary: **The girls are always the weak ones, the ones who are there just for the looks, the ones who are always the victims, the fangirls and the additional characters. After Sasuke's return to the village, many of the male shinobi were inspired by how strong he and Naruto became, resulting in a group of young female ninjas looked down upon.

One day Sakura and her friends decide to have a night together, when they are suddenly kidnapped and brought overseas. Will they die? Or will they escape? Even if they do escape, will they even find their way home?

**A/N: **I'm still writing, and thank you to that one reviewer who actually shocked me when you reviewed! It's nice to know at least _someone _is supporting me. *sigh*

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_If you're going through hell, keep going. –_Winston Churchill

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Slowly, she opened her eyes. It was dark and blurry, so she rubbed her eyes just to see if her vision came back.

When it did a few minutes later, she was startled when she saw jail bars right in front of her. She pushed herself off the ground with one arm, and found herself laying on her left on the hard, rock floor. Hay was scattered all over the place, and a heap of hay was at one corner in the cell. Sakura looked around, starting to panick.

"H-Hel-Hello?" The pinkette called out with a quaver in her voice. She was in a sitting position, looking around with fear in her jade eyes. She managed to get up by holding onto the bars of the jail cell she was in. Looking around, she saw no one.

"Ino…are you there?" Sakura uttered, only to hear echoes bounce off the wall. She was trapped in a huge cage they usually keep lions in, and the cage was inside a large, dark room. The only source of light was from a small window sitting high on the wall, letting in a little moonlight. Panicking, her pale-green eyes darted from side to side, "Hinata?! Tenten?! Anyone?! Hello, can anyone hear me?!"

She tried to twist the metal, but was surprised to find out that she seemed to have lost her chakra someway. She looked at her hands, only to find two, unfamiliar looking bracelets. Although they were small, weird-looking, glowing jewellry, she got a hint that it was blocking her from using chakra. The first thing that came to her mind was to try to get the bracelets off.

She tried, with all her physical strength, to break the bracelets, or at least get them off. After 10 minutes of trying, it was to no avail. All that she had succeeded to do was exhaust herself.

"Someone…help me…" Her voice, although very soft, echoed in the large, silent and dark room. She wondered where her three best friends were. She wondered where _she_ was right now.

It was embarrassing for her to be so weak and clueless at a time like this, but she was scared because she remembered—_clearly _– what had happened the night before. Someone knocked her out along with her friends.

"We've been kidnapped…" She whispered to herself, her fear suddenly disappearing and it was replaced with curiousity. "What would they want with us? It's not like they have anything to g—"

She paused, her eyes widening as she realized of a possible motive for someone to kidnap them. Maybe it was a trap to get Naruto coming for her. Maybe they were in the hands of the Akatsuki…or someone holding a grudge against the Kyuubi or Konoha.

Before she could think of a possible suspect, the dark room was suddenly filled with lights. Sakura scrunched her eyes because of the sudden brightness and lifted her forearms in a defending manner. She heard someone chuckle, making her rub her eyes and focusing on the man who stood right outside her jail cell.

"Hello there, Pinky," The man greeted, and the Haruno heir's anger flared. He was handsome, but not too handsome for her to fall for. He had a creepy smirk on his face that she didn't like and the twinkle in his eyes were disturbing, "You're a kunoichi from Japan, right? Well now…behave yourself. I'm getting you out of this cage and into a room where you'll meet your friends."

"You bastard!" She growled, getting to her feet and trying to claw the weird man in front of her. But the jail bars were blocking her and all the man needed was to take a step back, and he was safe from her grasp. Sakura didn't give up in the effort to grab him, "Where's Tenten? What did you do to Hinata and Ino? Let me out of here!"

"Be a good girl and don't hurt me," He said, swatting the emerald-eyed girl's hands away from him as he approached the cell's opening. Taking out a key from his pocket, he unlocked it and opened the cell. The moment he did, Sakura jumped on him.

He landed on the floor with the pink-haired girl on top of him. He cursed quietly as the kunoichi reached for his neck. "I don't want to kill you," She conceded, honestly yet angrily, "I just want my friends and we need to get out of here."

"You're incredibly stupid," The dark-haired man remarked, his face suddenly going from anger to blank. His icy blue eyes stared into her green ones, "With those damned bracelets on, you can't use chakra, and I know you're not that good in physical strength alone."

"Who said?" She snarled.

She was going to knock him out unconscious, but she went stiff went she felt a kunai to her throat. Her pale-green eyes examined the guy below her, only to find his hands pinned to the ground, but he was smirking. She looked over her shoulder slowly, terrified to see another man behind her.

"Let the man go, bitch," He ordered, and when the pinkette didn't comply, he pressed the kunai, making her neck bleed. "If you want to live, get off of him."

Again, Sakura didn't budge.

Furious, he grabbed her hair, pulling her head back, and he pressed the kunai hard enough for it to hurt. "Want your friends to die?" He hissed, and her olive eyes went wide, "So be it. But if you want all of you girls to live, let him go."

With her short hair in the man's painful grasp, she carefully got up, making sure the kunai didn't go in deep enough to kill her. When she finally stood up, the man that was trapped beneath her smirked and got up, dusting the invisible dust off of his white shirt, "She's different. Be careful, you big monkey. Now, go put her with the other girls. And don't tell anyone about this incident."

The larger man, whose kunai is now away from the jade-eyed girl's neck, nodded and walked out the door, with Sakura's hair in his grasp. She struggled to break free, but failed. Frustrated of the fact she was being dragged, she kicked the shin of the man carrying her.

He glared at her, to which she pretended she didn't notice, and Sakura stomped on his foot. He let out a short noise of slight pain, but continued walking. When they were out of the room, the pinkette found herself in a hallway, probably leading to bunch of other doors. Angry, she screamed in exasperation and kicked the man's shin again, but with all her physical strength this time.

He wailed for a while, holding his shin and hopping. Although he screamed for just a few seconds, it was just enough for Sakura to make a run for it. She didn't run back to the room, of course. She continued down the hallway, running with all her strength, barefoot. She didn't stop until she arrived upon a door with a small window.

She stood on her toes, peeking in the room through the window in the door. The room was bright with lights, but it was empty with nothing but white tiles and white walls. In the middle of the room were three girls, seated on three white chairs. They were blindfolded and gagged.

To the emerald-eyed girl's surprise, the three girls were her friends. She made no hesitation to turn the knob of the door and run inside the room. She closed the door behind her quietly, yet quickly, and rushed to Ino's side.

She patted Ino's cheek, not that hard, though. "Hey, hey, Ino...wake up! Are you conscious?!" When she got no reply, she checked the blonde's pulse, and was relieved to find out that she wasn't gone. "Thank goodness…"

The pale-green eyed girl jumped when the blindfolded blonde's head started to move. Not only was she blindfolded and gagged, her hands were tied behind the chair and her legs were tied to the legs of the chair. Much to Sakura's anger, there were new bruises and cuts on her arms and legs.

Glad that her best friend was conscious, Sakura immediately untied the blindfold and removed the gag. Ino sighed in relief, "I'm _so _happy to hear your voice, Sakura. I was pretending to sleep because I thought you were one of those hideous men."

"I'll get you out of here," The pinkette promised, and continued with untying the knot of the rope that was around Ino's wrists. When her hands were free, Sakura moved on to Tenten, who was in the middle on the room. She was tied up the same way Ino was.

The icy-blue eyed girl, satisfied that her hands were free, untied the ropes around her legs and proceeded with helping Hinata. Just like her, the brunette and the Hyuga heir were pretending to sleep as well.

"Sakura, I'm so glad to see you alive!" Hinata smiled, rushing to hug the pinkette, "When they were tying us up and I didn't see you, I thought they were going to kill you!"

"I thought they were going to kill _us!" _Tenten exclaimed, rubbing her ankles where the rough rope has once been, "Those guys were speaking in a damned language we didn't know and when we didn't answer, they beat us. I have no idea what they were asking us, but surely it was important enough until they're willing to capture and beat the shit out of us."

"Well, they didn't hurt us that bad," Ino sighed, and her arm brushed against a few bruises on her thigh, "And it didn't hurt that much. We've taken _much _better blows from stronger people before. I'm surprised that they didn't hurt Sakura that much. _Exceptforthefactherhairisato talmess."_

"What?" Sakura asked, unsure of Ino's last sentence. She said it so fast none of the girls heard the azure-eyed girl correctly. The blonde shrugged, and she had to stifle her giggles when the other girls didn't bother with what she said.

"Look, from what I know, we can't use chakra," Hinata said, pointing to the bracelets that were on every girl's arms, "These things can't be destroyed either. We need a key to get these things off and I think only the 'boss' has it."

"Who _is _the boss?" The brunette raised an eyebrow, and the other girls shrugged. The coffee-eyed girl sighed and folded her arms, "Are you saying we'll learn the hard way?"

"Hmm…I…I think I met the boss already…" The lime eyed girl spoke, stroking her nonexistent beard as her friends paid close attention to her, "He had black hair and blue eyes, and he even called the man 'big monkey'. He even had a key to use and he was wearing a white shirt. I _think _he's the one."

"How could we get past all those guards?" Ino asked, and it dashed the other girls' hopes of getting free, "We're outnumbered if there are too many, and we can't use chakra. Our physical strangth alone isn't anough to knock them unconscious. They're too…big and bulky."

"But teamwork could take them out," Hinata commented, "If there are two big guards guarding this man we think is the boss, two girls could fight one. We could win…but, we might lose if they have any weapons."

"I attacked the boss earlier," The Haruno heir admitted, shocking the girls, "He was alone at first, but when I jumped on him, the 'big monkey' caught me off guard with a kunai. I think they _do _carry weapons. That's a big problem, right?"

"You're right, but I don't think they'll kill us," Tenten said, "I think they won't kill us until they get what they want. Since we don't understand what the _hell _they're saying, we didn't answer and they weren't satisfied. If they kill us, they just wasted their time for kidnapping us."

"Tenten has a point…" Ino agreed, nodding her head and folding her arms.

Before anyone else could agree as well, they heard voices and footsteps from outside the room. From the sound and echoes, the girls could tell it will be more than two people coming their way. It sounded like the men were coming from both directions, so the girls were trapped.

Hinata searched frantically for a way out, and her grey eyes landed on the perfect thing. She herself couldn't believe what she saw. "Mirror! A glass window, guys!" She pointed in its direction, and her best friends turned their eyes on the black glass window that they (stupidly) didn't notice all this time.

The window was black, and they couldn't see what was inside, but whoever was behind it could watch them. It was big enough to stretch from wall to wall, and it was behind them. Sakura got up, rushed to the large window, and drew back her arm.

"SHANNARRO!" Her voice was followed with the sound of breaking glass.

Just as they expected, behind the window was another room, a darker, smaller one. It had two chairs for people to sit on while they watch them, and behind those two chairs was a door. The pinkette deemed it safe to cross to the other room and beckoned her friends to follow.

Her fist was bleeding because she punched the glass window without anything to protect her knuckles. The girls were wearing nothing but thigh-high, white dresses. Sakura tried her best to avoid stepping on the shattered glass and injuring her feet. Her friends did the same.

They had no time to waste. After a quick glance to see if anyone was outside, the girls opened the door of the hidden room and ran out. Tenten, being the last one through the door, managed to escape the minute a few men opened the door with the small window.

"They escaped through the big window!" A voice screamed, and the girls ran faster.

It was like they were in a maze. One path of the hallway led to another, followed by dozens of rooms and dead ends. But they were relieved to find out that they were faster than the searching men. They needed to find the boss before leaving. They have to get the bracelets off.

They were getting tired by the time they turned into a path were the hallway was suddenly decorated with pretty, romantic lights and the walls were painted pink and red. As they were making their way through, they heard voices from behind them getting louder. They stopped and turned around, only to see the dark hallway from where they passed through earlier was lit with flashlights.

All at once, the girls stumbled into a random room in the pink hallway.

"Search each room!" They heard, suddenly terrifed. The room they were occupying had no exit.

To their relief, another voice shouted, "You idiot! What if some of _our _girls are serving right now? We'll interrupt the customers and Boss'll get angry!"

They remained quiet, their hearts throbbing as more than a dozen man passed by their door without stopping and checking. Once they confirmed that the coast was clear, Sakura sighed in relief and exhaustion.

Hinata had her hand on her heart and she was leaning on the door. Her wide eyes closed slowly, and she took in a deep breath. There, she fell to her knees and sobbed.

Ino rushed to her side, patting her back and trying to calm her down. The ravenette was trembling with fear and worry. Tenten pitied the Hyuga heir, because she knew that Hinata was kind, soft and timid, and she was probably panicked out of her mind by now. The brunette doesn't know if she's crying tears of fear or relief.

"Let's rest, I don't think they'll check in here again," The pinkette announced, sighing in relief as she collasped on the beautiful, nicely decorated bed. The room was decorated with lights that put them in a romantic mood. "I think…we're in a brothel."

"That doesn't even make sense," Ino argued, leading the whipering Hinata to the loveseat next to the bed, "I mean, they captured, interrogated, and beat us. I'm sure they were asking something about Konoha or Naruto."

"What do they mean by 'our girls serving' and 'interrupt the customers'?" Sakura asked, raising her eyebrow at the frowning blonde, "I think they kidnapped us for two reasons…to get information, and if we didn't answer, they'll force us into prostitution. Maybe customers requested for kunoichis as one of their sluts."

"…She _does_ have a point," Tenten conceded, shrugging her shoulders.

"Beware, we can't sleep all at once," Hinata admonished, rubbing away the tears from her eyes, "Let's say…two of us keep watch while the other two sleep. After all four of us are refreshed, we'll look for the boss."

"Unless if the boss finds us first," The brunette warned, her hazel eyes giving a reminder to her friends to be cautious, "I'm sure they will check this place once all the customers are gone. It's 11 pm right now, so I guess in 2 hours they'll start searching again. And it's possible they'll come back in 30 minutes or so. They don't want to lose four girls."

"I'll keep watch with Tenten," Sakura insisted, getting off the bed, "It's _confirmed _that Hinata has to rest first, I don't want her unconscious. We'll rest—or sleep, if possible—for 20 minutes, making it 40 minutes for all four. After that we'll head out."

"I-I don't want t-to be a bother!" Hinata stammered, wagging her head in protest, "I'll replace Tenten in the first watch."

"If you pass out, you _will _be a bother," Ino said, her azure eyes told the ravenette how serious the situation was, "Let's rest, Hinata. Trust them—they won't let us down."

The Byakugan user was assured by the Yamanaka heir, and both of them dozed off the minute they collapsed on the bed. The brunette and the pale-green eyed girl sat on the couch, watching the door and constantly darting their eyes from side to side.

20 minutes passed, and Tenten walked over to the bed to wake her two friends from their slumber. Ino got up into a sitting position, yawned and stretched. When she saw Tenten, the blonde shook Hinata's shoulder, who was next to her. The ravenette got up and stretched her arms before getting off the bed.

The girls were startled when they heard a door being unlocked.

They went stiff when the only exit in the room creaked open. They didn't hear any footsteps, they didn't sense anybody approaching, and they didn't hear any voices. Yet, here they were, with their locked door being opened by somebody…and they were trapped.

Sakura got an impulse and she immediately followed it. Getting off the seat, she rushed to the door, grabbed the shirt of whoever was outside, pulled him inside, and slammed the door shut. It clicked as the jade-eyed girl locked it. The person who was once outside was on the floor because of her lightning-fast action.

Ino leaped off the bed and pinned the man to the floor. She sat on top of his stomach, putting his hands under her knees as she squeezed them down. She grasped the man's neck, threatening to strangle him.

Hinata gasped when she saw the man Ino was pinning down was the same man Sakura had described to be the boss. The blonde knew who she was holding, so she just held him down tighter, not giving him a chance to move.

"W-whoa, c-calm down!" The man sputtered incoherently, caught off guard by the incident that had happened so fast. He was going to check the room for one of the prostitutes who his customer had asked for, and the next thing he knew he was on the floor.

He settled down and studied his surroundings. It was the usual room where his girls would always use to serve their clients, but he was staring at the face of an unfamiliar blonde. Behind her was the same pink-haired girl who jumped on him an hour ago. He smirked, "Oh, so you girls are still here? For a second there, I thought you babes escaped already."

"Shut up, idiot," Tenten growled, putting her foot on the man's forehead, pushing his head down when he tried to get a better view of the bubblegum-pink haired girl. Her chocolate-coloured eyes glared down at him, "Give us _every single _key you have and we won't kill you."

"You better promise me that…besides, I like fiesty girls," He chuckled, and then winced when Ino's grip around his neck tightened. Seeing that he was outnumbered, he sighed, "Just search my pockets, front and back. The keys are surely there."

"Search the pockets, Hinata," Sakura ordered, and the grey-eyed girl complied. She took out a few keys from his front pockets. Then, the brunette and the blonde turned the man around, putting his face on the floor, and in his back pockets were another few keys and a map of the whole place. All of the keys were different in color.

"Look, this one's small enough to fit that hole in our bracelets!" Sakura exclaimed happily after examining one of the keys the dark-haired girl had given her, "Hinata, give me your hand!"

They were relieved and excited when the heavy bracelets fell off the Hyuga heir's arms and onto the floor, making a clanking sound. The ravenette took the keys and unlocked the bracelets around Sakura's arms, and after that she continued with Tenten.

All that was left was Ino, but she was pinning down the boss. The three best friends decided that they knock the man unconscious before helping the icy-blue eyed girl.

The pinkette approached him and bent down. "You've been _such _a good boy," She said in a dramatic tone. She batted her eyelashes and continued, "And since we _promised _not to kill you, we won't. Good night!"

After she wished him away, she concentrated some chakra to her hand, placed it on the back of his neck, and he passed out. The sky-blue eyed girl got off of him and had the bracelets removed. "Man, the boss is a really young man! He looks only 20, and his eyes are just like mine!"

"Amazingly, he looks like Sasuke. So Sasuke married Ino and they had a son. This is the son." Tenten added. Three of them glanced at Sakura from the corner of their eyes to see if she was jealous, but her face was completely blank.

"Let's get out of here." Was all she said as she headed out the door.

With the Haruno heir in the lead, the girls made their way through the large maze with the map as their only guide. They crept silently for more than an hour as they followed the map. They stumbled upon many locked doors, but they went through those since the keys were with them.

They turned left at one point, and saw a dead end. Next to the dead end was another path, and when they explored, they were amazed to see a locked door.

Guarded by two huge, burly men.

"Our chakra is back," Ino reminded, and then she grinned with self-confidence, "We could finish them off in no time!"

Assured by her words, the girls charged upon the men. They were startled at first, but reacted quickly when Sakura tried landing a punch. One of them pulled out a long metal bar and attempted to knock Hinata down. But the ravenette was faster—not only did she dodge, she even managed to snatch the metal stick and pass it on to the brown-haired girl.

Tenten has a weapon. Good.

The hazel-eyed girl distracted the man, hitting him in the stomach, causing him to bend down. She took the opportunity to stand on his back, and the stupid man tried swatting her off. But, he did not notice the blonde that was ready to kick him square in the stomach.

When Ino was close enough, Tenten jumped off his back, making him stand up straight again, and he was pushed into the rock wall, causing a crater. The guard groaned and passed out, making the two friends grin at each other.

Meanwhile, Hinata was wrestling with the other man. Her hands were glowing with white chakra and her Byakugan was on. Although this guard was bigger than the other, he was faster, dodging all of the Hyuga heir's hits.

He got confused when the white-eyed girl suddenly jumped back, away from him. Before he could even register the fact she was smirking, he felt someone break his spine as he was pummeled to the ground.

Grinning, Sakura stood on top of him, the chakra from her fist disappearing. "Oh, these men are strong but clueless," The pinkette remarked, "Now, let's get out of here before anyone finds the boss unconscious."

"They probably _already _found him and haven't reached here yet." Ino retorted and rolled her eyes.

After she stuck her tongue out at the azure-eyed girl, Sakura turned around and rushed to the locked door. She pulled out a key and pushed it into the keyhole.

She tried turning it, but it wouldn't budge. The pale-green eyed girl tried other keys, and with the same result, it didn't open the door. The girls were devastated and disappointed.

There was silence for a while.

"Don't lose hope yet!" The pinkette assured, suddenly having an idea. She drew back her hand, channeled some chakra into her fists, and punched the door, breaking it into pieces.

They were never so relieved to feel the wind in their hair.

**.**

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_Believe you can, and you're halfway there. _–Theodore Roosevelt

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**A/N: **I admit that the first few chapters of the original story are boring, so that's why these few chapters are boring, too. The travelling will start soon and from there on the story is much more appealing to me. Oh yeah, this part of the story has changed completely if you've read it before.

Anyway, thank you.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **The Lost Kunoichi

**Fandom: **Naruto

**Type: **Multi-chapter story

**Rated: **9+

**Word Count: **3, 710

**Summary: **The girls are always the weak ones, the ones who are there just for the looks, the ones who are always the victims, the fangirls and the additional characters. After Sasuke's return to the village, many of the male shinobi were inspired by how strong he and Naruto became, resulting in a group of young female ninjas looked down upon.

One day Sakura and her friends decide to have a night together, when they are suddenly kidnapped and brought overseas. Will they die? Or will they escape? Even if they do escape, will they even find their way home?

**A/N: **It's nice to know that there are people enjoying this story! :D I know a lot of people like reading romance stories, but taking a break from all the kissing means that its time for some adventure, comedy or friendship tales! And if I could, all three in one story!

And I'm writing one of those right now. xD

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_Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure_. –George Edward Woodberry

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"Okay girls, lets keep going!" Sakura called out, running off into the dark woods.

The other girls followed her into the forest. It was pitch black and they could hardly see anything—the moonlight poking through the trees' leaves was their only light source. They also noticed that it was much, _much _colder than usual. They weren't far from the brothel when they heard an alarm, and soon enough they heard voices and footsteps behind them.

"They're chasing us!" Ino shouted, taking a quick glance over her shoulder. At the same time, she channeled more chakra into her feet.

"Yes, we know that!" Tenten replied, alarmed.

So here they were, running through a pitch black, eerie forest, barely dressed, barefoot, tired and being hunted down by some whackjobs who were crazy enough to mess with them. This has _got _tobethe _worst_ life-and-death situation they have ever faced. Ever.

Hinata inhaled deeply and looked over her shoulder. She saw more than a dozen men running in their direction with torches and knives and…more pointy weapons. But she and her friends were in the dark…so how do these men know that they're escaping through this part of the woods?

"Guys, stop! They can't see us!" Hinata stopped abruptly, and she could sense her friends do the same. Although it was dark, the ravenette could see the confused looks her friends were giving her. "They _guessed _that we're running this way! We need to head for the river!"

All eyes glanced to their left. Past a few trees and some thick bushes and long grass, was a fast-flowing river that glimmered in the moonlight. "We still have time to get past those bushes to get to the river!" Ino said, and soon they heard the sound of leaves crumpling as the blonde stepped on them. "Let's keep moving!"

Her best friends followed, barely noticing the cuts and scratches the twigs were giving them. They made it past the shrubbery and started running along the riverbank. They weren't blinded by the darkness anymore, because there weren't any trees to block out the moonlight—but when the wind blew the girls can't help but shiver.

They were running at a good pace when they were immediately alarmed by the faint sound of a few men chasing after them. Even though the moonlight was good with helping them find their way—it also had a disadvantage. They were completely exposed and easily spotted if anybody was inspecting along the river.

Sakura risked looking back, and she saw exactly what she guessed. A crowd—not more than 7 people, though—were after them, holding flashlights and kitchen knives. "Damn…" She cursed quietly, "This isn't good! We need to find a quick getaway!"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Yes, we're aware of that!"

"Going back into the jungle isn't an option," Tenten said, catching breaths between her sentences, "It would take some time to get past the grass and they could catch up. Our running wouldn't be good either. Maybe we could—"

While the brunette was talking, she didn't realize how close she was to the river, hence she slipped on the slippery river bank and fell into the stream. She popped her head out, gasping for air, and realized that the stream was much faster than she thought. Every second was bringing her further and further away from her friends.

"We could escape using the river!" Sakura snapped, smiling. She took a deep breath before abruptly stopping, letting Ino and Hinata pass her, "I'm not sure if that's what Tenten meant, but—" With that, the pinkette dived in the gushing brook.

"Is this a good idea?" Ino inquired, a vein popping on her forehead as she watched Sakura pass by her. The jade-eyed girl was actually _enjoying _herself in the water—as in giggling and trying to splash the water at her friends- as the current brought her closer to Tenten. "They _are_ moving pretty fast."

"I wouldn't recommend it, but we can't get separated from those two!" Hinata frowned before hesitatingly immersing herself into the freezing cold canal. The ravenette bobbed her head out, gasping for some air as the river was deeper than she thought.

She could've sworn she heard Ino giggle before she dived into the water as well.

With the help of the fast current, the blonde swam to Hinata before both of them caught up with Tenten and Sakura. "Hey, I fell into this water by accident!" The weapon mistress exclaimed, her jaw dropping, "Why the heck are _you_ guys in the water too?!"

"We could escape easier this way!" Sakura chirped. Then she shuddered. The water was colder than the wind.

"Are you _crazy_?!" The brunette screamed, "The water's colder than a freezer! We could _drown _at such a fast current _or _we might _freeze_ to death! In water at such speed, we _can't _swim our way to the riverbank! What if they're creatures in the water? Like snakes!"

"You're overreacting!" Ino interrupted, and then she shivered. "You said yourself that the stream is fast! Won't the snakes or _whateverisinthiswater _drown as well?"

"T-They could b-be strong s-swimmers," Hinata sputtered, circulating some chakra around her body in an effort to keep herself warm.

Ino sighed. "You are _so _not helping."

All pairs of eyes looked behind them to see if anybody was running along the riverbank or swimming toward them. They could hardly believe that no one was chasing them. "Wow, we lost them!" Sakura gasped and then grinned.

A few seconds passed by and Tenten frowned. "The currents are getting faster by the minute," She muttered, suddenly feeling alarmed. She made a pathetic attempt to swim to the side of the river, but to no avail. "We might be safe from those guys, but we need to get out of here!"

The three girls watched cluelessly as the brunette used some chakra to aid in her swimming. Before they could put a finger on what Tenten meant, the noticed the river getting wider and they were drifting further apart.

On an impulse, Sakura grabbed Ino's forearm. "Stay together! We can't risk getting separated in the stream!" Ino tried to reach out for the Byakugan user, but she was too late. Hinata already floated a few meters away from them. Tenten was the same.

The two girls tried hard to get a firm grip on each other, but the gushing water was strong enough to pull them apart. The water started getting rough—the rocks in the waterway were causing the currents to move in all kinds of directions. The violent waters were threatening to drown the pinkette, but she fought, gasping for air after she successfully emerged from the water.

Again, her head was pushed down into the water—all she felt were small bubbles rushing up to the surface, all she saw was darkness, and she heard nothing. Then, she waved her arms violently in the water, swimming back up to the surface.

She took a deep breath once her head bobbed out, and a deafening noise rang in her ears. She guessed what it was, but she was blinded by the water. The verocious sound drained out the screams and warnings her friends were shouting.

Yet again, Sakura was forced into the water as the river made another attempt to drown her. This time, her energy was out, and no matter how aggressively she waved her arms in the water, her body wouldn't seem to go back up. Under the gushing, ferocious stream, the deafening noise sounded like a thunderstorm that was far away.

Sakura jumped when she felt the ground beneath her vanish. She was shoved, and the water forced her…down. Why down? Why is she going down? She was barely breathing. She maneuvered her body a bit to the back, and suddenly, she was out of the water.

And she was in the air. Falling fast.

The wind that nearly blew her whole dress up was so strong it felt as though she was standing on top of a launched rocket. Her bangs that were supposedly framing her face were in the air. In a flash, her mind worked out of what might've happened.

She fell off a waterfall.

Her emerald eyes dared to look down, and all she saw was a mist. It was getting closer and Sakura wasn't sure what to do. Seeing that she was trapped, she gave up on her life, closed her eyes, and lost herself in the fogginess.

After what seemed like hours, the Haruno heir woke up. Everything was blury at first, and she felt water drops falling on her cheeks continuously, making it harder for her to see. She slowly got into a sitting position and rubbed her eyes, and found out that she was lying on what seemed to be a very flat rock. From her knee down, it was in the water of a calm, small lake.

But the noise there could make her deaf. She doesn't know where the sound is coming from, her vision wasn't so clear, anyway. She slowly got up and looked around. Everything around her, besides the flat rock, was whitish blue. She stepped in the water, and then gasped when she stepped on something.

She hopped in the water, trying to avoid stepping on anything else, and she spotted another flat rock nearby. She tried to get on top of it, but she shrieked when she heard a few snakes—that were already curled on the rock—hiss at her. Well then, that must mean the thing she stepped on is a snake, too.

Strangely, the reptiles did not attack her, but just watched her stumble and scream about. A few minutes later, Sakura miraculously found herself standing on land, staring at a green forest. She was dazed and confused at first, since the last thing she saw was a brownish-grey snake hissing at her.

And then it hit her.

"I survived!" She exclaimed happily, leaping in the air. She looked around and saw her three friends lying unconsciously nearby. She rushed up to them and confirmed that they were still alive. She sighed in relief.

While the pinkette was trying to revive Hinata, Ino opened her eyes and slowly got up, rubbing her shoulder. "Ow…that hurt…" She moaned, and then studied her surroundings. Her sky-blue eyes went wide when she saw Sakura grinning at her.

"Oh gosh…we're alive?!" She exclaimed, hardly believing what she thought. Her hands went all over her face, and she looked at her arms and then looked at her friends, who were now all awake. "We're alive! We made it! Yahoo!" The blonde wrapped her arms around the dazed Hinata.

"I think I woke up behind the waterfall…in the nest of boa constictors." Sakura uttered, helping Tenten to get into a sitting position as a weak smile crooked on her face.

"That's impossible, boa constrictors are large, heavy-bodied snakes…I don't think they live behind waterfalls," The dark-brown haired girl smiled back, rubbing her arm. She paused to look around and then said, "But it's possible we'll find one here…it looks like a forest suitable enough for a snake like that."

"The sun is up…" Hinata muttered, loud enough for them to hear. "It was 2 in the morning when we escaped, if I'm not mistaken… and we should be captured by now. Unless if the men gave up searching for us."

"Oh I think they said something like, 'Oh, they fell off the waterfall, they're goners, I tell ya!'" Ino joked, making a manly voice to make it even funnier. The four friends laughed for a few minutes before turning their attention towards the waterfall.

"Whoa, we fell off of _that _and here we are with no broken bones?!" The blonde exclaimed, pointing upward. None of them were sure if Ino was excited, proud or shocked. Maybe all three.

"Wow, miracles _do _happen," Hinata smiled, her grey eyes examining the jungle surrounding the waterfall, "I've never seen this part of the forest before. And I have never seen this waterfall before in my life. So, where are we?"

"That's why we should find out." Tenten said, but instead of trying to get up, she lied back down, "We just cheated death—well, at least I think so- so I think we all deserve some well-earned rest. Since those men think we're dead and we're out of the river…we should be safe for now."

A 'heh' escaped Ino's lips as she collapsed as well. "Did you just _have _to add the 'for now'?"

"What? It's true, anyway," Tenten grinned before staring at the sky. Sakura and Hinata laid down on the warm land to join their friends. They have never felt such an overwhelming sense of relief.

And they spent the next few hours joking and laughing.

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_The best way out is always through._ –Robert Frost.

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"The trees here are different from the ones I'm used to," Sakura remarked, oddly looking around them. "And this jungle doesn't have a forest path, either. And…it's colder than usual…"

"It's September 30th, right?" Ino asked, turning to Hinata who was walking beside her. The Hyuga heir shrugged her shoulders, and the blonde pulled on an unsure frown. "It shouldn't be this cold in Konoha, especially in the afternoon, too."

"We could look for a town and ask for directions," Hinata suggested.

"We're hardly dressed and we have no money," Tenten said, rolling her eyes, "If we were wearing the same clothes from yesterday I would have enough money to buy a simple meal for all of us. Unfortunately, they replaced our clothes with thin, low-quality dresses."

"It's almost like the dresses slaves wear!" Ino commented, looking down to examine the drab clothing she was wearing. "Or maybe, it _is _the clothing that slaves wear!"

"Would you be quiet?" Sakura said, irritated at her friend, "We all know your imagination is contagious. Soon we'll all be shopping freaks like you."

"Shopping freak?!"

"Will you both _stop _acting like children?!" Tenten scolded, glaring at both of them, "We have no clue where we are and there's a high possibility that we will be ambushed! The least _you two _could do is shut up and not cause any more headaches!"

Neither Sakura nor Ino said another word after the brunette reprimanded them. _'If she keeps this up she'll be as staid as Neji one day.' _The Yamanaka heir thought to herself.

They walked through the forest aimlessly, as if they were lost, but made sure their chakra was hidden. As the minutes drifted off into hours, Hinata concluded that nightfall would be coming soon. "It's probably 6 o'clock, guys," The ravenette informed as the three girls at the front stopped to look at her, "We need to find a town fast, or we'll be spending our first night in the woods."

"I don't like the sound of that," Ino frowned. The Haruno heir rolled her eyes. A few minutes later, they were about to continue walking again until they heard a loud scream.

"What was that?!" Sakura asked briefly, her pale-green eyes darting side-to-side as she searched from which direction the shriek came from. The scream came again, and the pinkette pointed to her right, toward a thick mass of bushes and long grass. "It came from there!"

The girls rushed in the said direction, and after successfully making it past the shrubbery, they looked around them. All that was in view was a vehicle that looked like a small truck, painted black and green. Its paint was in the pattern soldiers wore.

"An army vehicle?" Hinata wondered quietly. Suddenly, all four of them heard voices and dived back into the thick bushes. They watched silently as four men approached the small lorry. One of them was dragging a young girl, whose hands had been tied together, by her hair. She was also gagged, making her unable to shout for help.

"What are those men doing?!" Sakura asked in a whisper, somewhat angrily, glancing over to Tenten to see if she had an answer. The brown-eyed girl's expression was just the same as the other two girls—confusion. Why are four soldiers harrassing a girl in the middle of a forest?

The prisoner was struggling, of course. After a few failed attempts, tears escaped her eyes, enraging Sakura. "We should do something!" She hissed, only to have Hinata stare worriedly at her. The Byakugan user shook her head and gave her a sign that said, _'Wait for the right moment.'_

A few minutes later, that moment came. The hostage was with one of the men at the back of the truck, while the other three proceeded to the front to drive away. Impulsively, Sakura sprang into action. She jumped out of her hiding place and pointed a finger at them. "Stop right there!"

She could've sworn she heard Ino facepalm.

The men have noticed the pinkette, and to her relief she found out that they had no guns with them or anything. But they did have knives, and one of the three men seated at the front lunged toward her with the sharp object in his hand.

Sakura managed to get the knife out of the man's grasp with ease, and she channeled a bit of chakra into her fist before attacking her opponent with an uppercut. He flew a few meters away from her, unconscious.

"Oh yeah! Who's next?" She grinned, cracking her knuckles loudly. She could hear Ino step out of the hiding place and sigh.

"If you think _you're _gonna get all the glory, you won't," The blonde said, pushing Sakura to the side as another man lunged toward them—this time, with a spear. The Haruno heir snickered as her best friend's opponent was sent flying above the trees. To the girls' surprise, Tenten and Hinata were gone, but nowhere in sight.

A few seconds later Sakura and Ino found out that their other two friends have been travelling nearer to the truck, undetected. Tenten's goal was to take out the remaining two men and Hinata was to save the young girl at the back of the truck. They finished this task with ease.

At first, the hostage was terrified at the sight of Hinata, but calmed down when the ravenette did not seem to show any threat. The Hyuga heir carried the girl out of the truck and onto the ground and laid her against a tree. At that time, all four girls crowded her.

She was a teenager that had long, waist-length, dark brown hair with straight bangs. Her eyes were strangely yellow and she had fair skin. She was wearing a knee-length, white dress that had brown short sleeves. She was beautiful—a possible reason of why any man would try to kidnap her.

The pale-grey eyed girl freed her from the ropes and allowed a comforting smile to play on her face. "Are you okay?" The girl did not answer. She avoided eye-contact with any of her saviours and continued rubbing her sore wrists.

After a while, she finally spoke up. "T-thank you…" She had a weird accent, but it was still recognizable. Then her hand reached for her pocket, and Sakura tensed, worried it might be a trap or something. But to the girls' surprise, it appeared to be a large piece of folded paper.

"You girls…are not from here, no?" The girl spoke again, this time with fewer quavers in her voice. All four kunoichis exchanged glances. What does she mean, 'not from here'? Weren't they in Japan?

"Ah, si, si…you are lost," The girl said, and quickly unfolded the paper in her hands. It was a map. "You need, ah…this, _guide._"

Tenten accepted the map and examined it. "This is a country map…it shows all the states in the country," Her hazel eyes widened, "Wait a minute…this isn't in the shape of Japan…"

"What do you mean?!" Ino asked, surprised. She snatched the map from the brunette and inspected it herself. Her icy-blue eyes went wide and she gasped, "We're not in Japan! That means…we've been brought overseas!"

Sakura glanced at a tree from the corner of her eyes. She glanced at it the same way girls do when they see a creepy guy nearby. "No wonder that tree looked a little funny."

Ino smacked her on the head.

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_A best friend is someone who knows your deepest, darkest secrets and knows all you flaws, but loves you anyway._ –Unknown

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**A/N: **No, the girls are _not _in Italy/Spain. This chapter is _completely _different from its original one, since the part where the girls saved the hostage never happened in the original story. And if you are skeptical about the girls surviving a waterfall…well, miracles happen.

The part where Sakura woke up in a nest of snakes after falling off a waterfall is a real story, it happened to someone, although I don't remember who. Hopefully this was a satisfying chapter!

Please review.


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